


yujikiri one-shots

by luxettenebrae



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Rewrite, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Integrity Knight Eugeo, Loss, M/M, Romance, YujiKiri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxettenebrae/pseuds/luxettenebrae
Summary: 2 one-shots. Spoilers for SAO Alicization, so don't read unless you finished it. Stop here and don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.1. A rewrite of the scene where Eugeo is fighting Kirito as an Integrity Knight.2. A rewrite of the scene where Kirito's in the dark space, suffering when Eugeo appears and offers him a hand.
Relationships: Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	1. partners

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a bit of Yujikiri back when I was super into SAO. I haven't written for a while now so I was only able to do a bit of fine-tuning to the work, no edits really.  
> I hope you'll like it. I wanted to convey everything that I felt was never said, that I felt Kirito and Eugeo would have said or maybe even should have said to make it more interesting. I'm not super into the fandom/ship right now, but I was really attached to Yujikiri when watching the show.

“Eugeo, you don’t even remember what you came here to the capital for!” Kirito gesticulated wildly at Alice, “To come and bring your childhood friend back to Rulid village, you came all the way to Centoria and trained in the Swordscraft Academy for two years. How could you—“ Kirito paused, overcome- “how could you leave all that behind?” 

The blonde knight standing across the room, seemingly now a stranger, only readied his sword.

“I don’t care. I have nothing to say to the likes of you,” he said, but even as he said those callous words, he felt something wasn’t quite right. 

Ignoring the sense of something wrong inside, he simply dove forward, gripping his sword the way his body remembered to. The black-haired swordsman gritted his teeth and rose to meet Eugeo’s challenge, and their swords clashed in the center of the room. 

“Eugeo, do you remember the name of the sword skill you just used?”

He did. 

When he spoke its name, a light shone in the eyes of the other boy, a bright shimmer, and for the first time since Eugeo awoke as an Integrity Knight, he knew an emotion other than that which he held for Her Eminence; it was a tender feeling, something much closer to his heart and so much softer. 

“It was your mentor who taught you that sword skill! You can’t throw it all away, Eugeo, whether you want to or not. It’s a part of you. You can’t negate the blessings you’ve received from those around you,” Kirito yelled as the two leaped apart, returning to opposite ends of the spacious room once more.

Eugeo pressed the tip of his sword against the floor and felt it dig into the marble with a satisfying crunch; he rested his hands against its hilt and stared at the black-haired boy across the room. 

“I don’t remember who taught me, and I couldn’t care less,” he bit out. But before he could stop himself from saying what he’d been thinking all along, it escaped his lips in an anxious flurry. “But who are you? Who are you to me? You’ve been jabbering on about all these people I don’t know, all these people I could care less about, and yet you haven’t said a single word about yourself. You’re the only one who makes me-“ he cut himself short and clenched his jaw, sending a cutting look at the other boy, who seemed as surprised as he felt. He never expected himself to lose control in such a way, and in the middle of a swordfight nonetheless. 

“Me? I’m Kirito.” 

Eugeo fought the urge to smack his forehead and sigh, which was such a familiar sensation he had to question if it had been a common one before he lost all his memories.

“Yes, you’ve said that. But what are you to me? Why do I feel so-“ he balled a hand into a fist over his chest and shut his mouth again. It wouldn’t do to lose his composure; it simply wouldn’t, and yet here he was, on the verge of breaking apart and doubting Her Eminence all over one boy.

Kirito tilted his head and then sighed.

“That’s right, you’ve lost your memories. I’m your partner, Eugeo. We’re partners. I’ve been by your side for almost three years now. Does that answer your question?” He grinned at Eugeo, and that expression alone was enough to send tingles of warmth in his chest and over his fingertips. 

He steadied himself by gripping the hilt of his sword again and stared Kirito down again. Indeed, there was something all too familiar and all too intimate about the way this boy made him feel. He studied Kirito closely, who squirmed under the intensity of his gaze.

“But why?” He muttered to himself. “Why do you make me feel like this?”

Kirito stopped squirming and blinked rapidly as he looked at Eugeo.

“What...what do you mean? Like what?”

“Like...like there’s something tight in my chest. Like-“ his face turned red- “like you’re more important to me than Her Eminence!”

While Kirito was unmistakably shocked, Eugeo watched as his face transformed into a smug smile.

“Well, isn’t that natural? You’ve barely spent an hour with her, and you’ve spent three years with me. It’s obvious that our bond would be superior.” He took a slow few steps forward, and Eugeo eyed him suspiciously. “Can I approach you? I won’t attack you or anything.” 

Wavering for a moment, Eugeo then tightened his grip on his sword once more and then stiffly nodded.

“If you must. But if you do anything strange, I will cut you down where you stand.” 

Kirito sheathed his sword and held up his hands defensively, laughing.

“Got it, got it. Man, I’m getting flashbacks to when you nagged me about doing my homework on the Sacred Arts. Don’t worry, I won’t pull anything funny.”

He carefully stepped forward, one foot after another. Within moments, he’d traversed the length of the room, and the distance between him and Eugeo was less than half a meter. 

“So?” Eugeo snapped. “What is your reason for getting so close to-“

He was abruptly cut short as Kirito reached his arms around him and embraced him closely, even through the armor, pushing aside Eugeo’s sword, which clanked noisily onto the floor.

“Eugeo, do you remember yet?” Kirito whispered, his voice as thin as a thread, pulling something out of Eugeo, evoking a stronger reaction than he should be even able to. The Integrity Knight could only falter under such a gentle and warm touch; he could not bring himself to return such a touch, a touch that he didn’t deserve, a touch that he had long coveted and yet wrongly so—

“My head,” Eugeo cried out. “It hurts...”

Kirito held him closer, drawing Eugeo further into his embrace with all the strength he could muster. 

“I’m sorry, Eugeo. But you have to remember. I can’t let you leave it like this,” he said, and his voice sounded almost desperate. “You’re my partner as much as I’m yours. I can’t do this without you.” 

Shards of memories, images, and sounds began digging inside, stacking on top of each other again and again. 

Kirito, a handsome youth and stranger appearing in the woods beside Rulid.

Kirito, his friend traveling with him to the Capital of Centoria to become Integrity Knights.

Kirito, his partner climbing the floors of the Cathedral with him, all in the name of recovering Alice’s memories.

And Kirito, the person he loved, sharing day after day together for three years straight. 

A burning sensation scraped through his head as the Piety Module slid out, and with a clatter, it fell on the floor behind Kirito’s feet and shattered. 

Exhausted, Eugeo fell to his knees, putting a hand to his forehead, which was starting to hurt less, thankfully.

“K-Kirito...” he managed to utter reticently. “I’m sorry. I remember.”

Kirito slowly withdrew and smiled at Eugeo with a relieved face, holding out his hand.

“I knew you’d remember eventually. Welcome back, partner.” 

Eugeo shook his head as he kneeled on the floor, refusing to meet Kirito’s gaze.

“I can’t believe I lost to Administrator like that. I’m...I don’t deserve to be your partner. I don’t...” he paused and bit his bottom lip anxiously. “I don’t deserve this.” 

Kirito gave Eugeo a look.

“Well, I deserve to be by yours. My place is by your side, just as your place is by mine. Right?” 

Eugeo faltered, feeling a hint of a smile reach the corners of his lips. With a nod, he gripped Kirito’s hand and was pulled to his feet.

“You’re right. Thank you, Kirito,” he managed to say, feeling himself choke on his words, his thoughts, his feelings. 

Only Kirito. Only he could make Eugeo feel this way, melting the ice with his warmth. And it was only natural. After all, they were partners. 

His only partner in this life was and would be Kirito. 


	2. stand again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short and closer to the original. But I do wish Kirito had said this. It would have been so cathartic.

“Is it okay? Is it really okay for me to stand again, Eugeo?” 

His voice trembled, barely audible.

Eugeo smiled at Kirito, kindly, in the way he always did.

“Of course, Kirito. So many people are waiting for your return.” 

“But you’re not waiting!” Kirito burst, his voice a piercing cry wrenched from the depths of his sorrow in the empty, dark space. “But you’re not waiting for my return...” He reached out and clutched onto the front of Eugeo’s shirt, desperate, his bloodied hands staining the blue with crimson fingerprints. “Why...what’s the point, anymore? You’re not there...” his voice trailed off weakly. 

Gently, Eugeo placed a hand on Kirito’s head, petting his messy black hair. 

“I wish I could be there, Kirito. But I’m always here, inside your memories, and inside you. I always will be.”

Kirito squeezed the blue fabric between his fingers tightly, his knuckles turning white. 

“But, I... How can I stand again, without you at my side?”

The flaxen-haired boy tenderly combed his fingers through Kirito’s hair before pulling away, leaving only traces of his touch skimming past Kirito’s cheeks, compelling the other boy to look up at him. 

“I’m inside you, now. And the fragment of memory I left within you will continue to accompany you. So long as you wish it, I will always be here.” With a gentle swipe of his calloused thumbs, he wiped the tears from Kirito’s eyes, which were red and swollen from crying. “So, let’s go together. Come, Kirito.”

Reluctantly, Kirito let go of the front of Eugeo’s shirt, and he instead took Eugeo’s hand with a surprising force.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you wanna chat, come find me @luxexhomines on Tumblr or Twitter. I usually write when my mental health isn't in the pits like it is now.


End file.
